1917 EVENTS IN MEMORIES OF THE SILVER AGE CREATIVE INTELLIGENTSIA

2017

RUDN Journal of Russian History, Vol 16, Iss 2, Pp 253-263 (2017)

The article analyzes the attitude of the Russian artistic intelligentsia to the revolutionary events of 1917. There are studied the diaries and memoirs by Bunin, Berdyaev, M. Gorky, F. Stepun, Z. Gippius, P.A. Sorokin et al. Besides, the authors consider thedynamics of the intellectuals’ attitude to the revolution, from delight to complete denial. There are analyzed the reasons which encouraged the creative intelligentsia toemigrate. The Silver Age creative intelligentsia representatives’ memories are of particular importance. Memoir prose combined the personal-confessional and objective cognitive aspects. As noted by N.N. Koznova, these memoirs reflected different views of the historic past of Russia, the attempts to predict its future as well asthe thoughts about the fate of the country. Modern researchers study the Russian intelligentsia representatives’ self-discovery and self-criticism processes, but do not study the dynamics of their attitude to the revolution, taking it as a historical reality. The main purpose of the study is to see the way the creative intelligentsia of the Silver Age changed their attitude to the events of 1917. In the course of the study there was revealed the dynamic change of the creative intelligentsia attitude to the events of 1917. Schematically, this attitude can be divided into four stages. The first stage wasbreathless expectation of changes associated with the inability of the Russian government to resolve the problems related to the First World War in the short term. This expectation of change was primarily caused by the crisis due to the military events. The second stage was the enthusiasm aboutthe February Revolution. At that timethe creative intelligentsia perceived the revolution as the only vector of development and attached all hopes to it. The third stage was disappointment at the seizure of power in October 1917. The fourth and final stage was horror and aversion which became obvious already after 1917, which subsequently encouraged creative intellectuals to emigrate.

article

Russian

Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University), 2017.

творческая интеллигенция, революция, эмиграция, мемуары, History of Russia. Soviet Union. Former Soviet Republics, DK1-4735